“A tool for rallying the nation”: why did the Estonian parliament accuse Russia of unleashing the Second World War

The Estonian parliament adopted a resolution “On the historical memory and falsification of history”, which condemns Russia's position on the Second World War. The document was supported by 72 deputies out of 101, one parliamentarian opposed.

“Expressing support for Poland and other European states, which the Russian Federation has recently ranked among those responsible for starting the Second World War, the Riigikogu (Estonian parliament. - RT ) condemns the attempts of the authorities of the Russian Federation to rewrite history, denying the role of the Soviet Union as one of the main instigators of World War II and transferring responsibility for aggression to victims, ”reads the text of the resolution.

The Estonian parliament ruled that World War II "became possible as a result of the signing on August 23, 1939 between the Soviet Union and National Socialist Germany of a non-aggression treaty, that is, a direct consequence of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and secret additional protocols."

The resolution also calls on the Estonian government to “support the preservation of an authentic historical memory”.

The preparation of this document became known at the end of January, when his draft was approved by the same number of votes. On January 28, Speaker of the Estonian Parliament Henn Põlloas, speaking to the Polish military in the country, accused Russia of allegedly rewriting history “for the sake of its goals”. At the same time, the Estonian politician said that “the danger from the east has not disappeared,” and thanked the “NATO allies for their contribution to protecting” the Estonian borders.

In response, the Russian diplomatic mission in early February issued a statement criticizing the actions of the Estonian parliament.

“Otherwise, blasphemous cannot be called attempts to present the Soviet Union as“ one of the main initiators of the Second World War. ” It is now apparently easier to throw such accusations when there are fewer and fewer eyewitnesses of those years. But this should not mean a complete untying of hands when trying to change the historical memory, its outright falsification, ”the embassy of the Russian Federation noted.

From the point of view of Russian parliamentarians, the resolution adopted by the Estonian parliament is “offensive”.

“A blatant insult to those who fought against Nazi Germany in order to rid the whole world of the horrors of Nazism. Today, the Estonian parliament adopted a historically unfair resolution, ”said Russian State Duma deputy Ruslan Balbek in a conversation with RT.

In his opinion, Moscow should respond to such actions.

“It is useless to exhort or prove something to those people who voted for this document. We must respond politically to such attacks. I’m sure that not all Estonian people share such views, there are those who want to know the truth, ”the deputy said.

Course on revisionism

The authorities of Estonia, as well as other Baltic states, in recent decades have consistently lobbied for a review of the circumstances and outcomes of both World War II as a whole and its individual episodes.

• Veterans of the 20th SS Grenadier Division at Sinimäe Heights
• RIA News
• © Alexey Olysko

So, on September 22, 2019, on the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Tallinn from the Nazis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia published a post on the event dedicated to the event, which stated that on this day the people of the country began to struggle with the “Soviet occupation forces”.

Shortly before this, the Estonian Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador because of his statement that the country's inhabitants honor the memory of Soviet soldiers who liberated the republic from fascism. Also, the Estonian foreign ministry called the representative of the Russian embassy because of the preparation in Moscow of a festive salute in honor of the liberation of Tallinn, which later the Estonian authorities called it a “provocation”.

Commemorative events dedicated to Estonian SS men who took part in the battles for Narva in 1944 regularly take place in Estonia at the end of July. They are usually visited by representatives of the Estonian parliament and military.

Recall that back in 2007, a memorial stone was erected on the Sinimäe Heights in honor of the 20th SS Waffen Grenadier Division.

From the point of view of experts, the appeal to such a dubious historical past is characteristic of those countries that "lost their future and completely disorganized their present."

“In Estonia, there are processes in the economy that are most likely to lead to the cessation of Estonian statehood in 35–40 years. There is a crisis of average income, and much more. Under these conditions, the only instrument for uniting the nation is the search for enemies in the past, the glorification of their SS men or police officers who burned villages with old people and children in the Leningrad Region. Each of these criminals falls under the Nuremberg Tribunal, ”said Nikolai Mezhevich, president of the Russian Association of Baltic Studies, in a conversation with RT.

“A significant part of parliamentarians, due to their poor education, reads only Estonian, and the main Estonian-language information sources claim that it was Stalin who unleashed the Second World War. In addition, when a country has big problems with its own history, then there is a great desire to rewrite the history of neighboring countries dating back ten centuries, ”the expert explained.

At the same time, the analyst emphasized that the adoption of such a resolution will not affect anything.

“The Estonian parliament may accept a statement that the Earth is flat. All this is a meaningless exercise on a historical topic by unicultural people, ”says Mezhevich.

“You can’t rewrite the results”

Vladimir Putin has repeatedly spoken about the growing trend in rewriting the history of World War II. So, during a meeting with veterans in St. Petersburg in January, the Russian leader promised to open a center for archival documents about the Second World War.

• Residents talk with Soviet tankmen who liberated Tallinn
• RIA News
• © David Trachtenberg

“And we will shut our mouths to those who are trying to rewrite history, misrepresent it and belittle the role of our fathers and grandfathers, our heroes, who died defending their homeland and practically the whole world from the brown plague,” the Russian president said.

Vladimir Putin also mentioned the creation of the complex, where the largest and most complete collection of archival materials about the Second World War should be located, in a recent message to the Federal Assembly. Then the President of Russia noted that the country must defend the truth about the Victory and confront "arrogant lies and attempts to re-read history."

The scientific director of the Russian Military Historical Society (RVIO) Mikhail Myagkov in an interview with RT recalled that the declassified documents of the central archive of the Ministry of Defense, the FSB and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clearly and definitely demonstrate to the world community who exactly is responsible for unleashing the Second World War.

“This is primarily a fascist bloc, but also countries such as Great Britain and France, which conducted an irresponsible policy of appeasing the aggressor, did a lot for the development of Nazi aggression. Such as Poland, which conducted anti-Semitic and Russophobic policies on the eve of World War II. Today's statements of the Estonian parliament look like an attempt not to be late and express their opinion on this issue. But all this looks pathetic and ridiculous, ”Myagkov believes.

According to him, such demarches are in the pan-European trend of statements that the Soviet Union allegedly occupied Eastern Europe.

“Estonians, of course, also talk about this. However, the falsifiers of history have already lost the historical argument. What has been done recently by our president, the fact that historical documents have become available, has caused a real shock and throwing on the part of the anti-Russian Western elite, including the Estonian one.

In the end, their own society will reject them, because they are already tired of the Baltic states and Poland. They do not solve the internal problems of these states. An external enemy is needed so that the population does not pay attention to these problems. Anti-Russian statements are primarily intended for domestic consumption, so that people do not condemn the policies of the authorities, ”Myagkov believes.

According to him, this resolution has no legal force and will not be able to legalize Estonia’s efforts to rewrite history in its favor. At the same time, from the point of view of Mikhail Myagkov, Russia should documentally refute such demarches.

“Our steps are clear. These are documents, these are facts, this is the dissemination of genuine information about the Second World War and clear statements that the results of the Second World War cannot be rewritten, otherwise the verdicts of the Nuremberg Tribunal against the main Nazi criminals are undermined. The danger of such statements for Estonia lies in the potential growth of neo-Nazi sentiment. Thus, they themselves undermine the modern foundations of European society, ”said the historian.